Noli Me Tangere Notes: Chapter 1: A Gathering In late October, Don Santiago de los Santos (otherwise known as Capitan Tiago),

hosted a dinner at his house on Anloague Street. The descriptions of the house could be likened to the status of Philippine society under Spanish rule. Among the characters we meet are a Teniente Guevara, Padre Sibyla (Dominican) and Padre Damaso (Franciscan). Padre Damaso spent 20 years as parish priest in San Diego. The angry conversation between Padre Damaso and the soldier reveals that a good man, whose son was in Europe, died. His body was exhumed by the San Diego parish priest and ordered buried elsewhere. Some notes y It is not yet clear why Capitan Tiago is hosting a dinner. It will be learned only in later chapters that the dinner is in honor of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, the novel's lead character, who is returning to the Philippines from Europe. y It is almost All Souls' Day. y Introduced in this chapter is Doa Victorina, a memorable and insufferable character of the Noli. Questions and Answers 1. What undesirable traits of Filipinos were mentioned in this chapter? Attending parties even if not invited, extravagant parties (because no one knew how many people were coming), the host does not get to eat dinner. 2. How did Rizal liken the Philippines to Capitan Tiago's house? The country, like the house, is open to all (Philippine hospitality). But Filipinos are not interested in business or entrepreneurship, and have a hard time embracing new ideas (because of conservatism). Any new endeavor is met with doubts from many sectors, but once success is achieved, everyone wants to share in the glory. 3. What is the significance of the argument between Padre Damaso and Teniente Guevara? This exemplifies the difficulty of uniting Church and State. Take note of the assassination of Capitan Heneral Bustamante. History also tells of the bloody struggle for the Spanish throne between the liberal supporters of Queen Cristina and the friar-supported Carlist movement. 4. What was the effect of this on Philippine government? Frequent changes in the Spanish monarchy translated to a high turnover of Capitan Henerales in the Philippines. Given their short stint, these men in government took either advantage of their position by engaging in corruption, or did not bother to govern well. 5. What was Padre Damaso mad about? He was upset about his being sent away from San Diego, where he served as parish priest for 20 years. He got angry at someone and branded him a heretic. When the "heretic" died, he was buried in the church (because Padre Damaso was not around). When Padre Damaso returned, he ordered the body exhumed and buried in the Chinese cemetery.

This unjust act was reported to the Capitan Heneral by Teniente Guevara, and Padre Damaso was transferred out of San Diego. Padre Damaso started to say something about letters being lost during his transfer, but he did not finish his sentence. Actually, these are letters written to Padre Damaso by some...woman. Chapter 2: Crisostomo Ibarra We meet Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin, the son of the late Don Rafael Ibarra (the man whose body was exhumed). Crisostomo gets confused when Padre Damaso, the friar whom Crisostomo thought was a close friend of his deceased father, said that Don Rafael was never a close friend of his. Fortunately, the soldier had kinder words to say about Don Rafael. Another good friend of Don Rafael, Capitan Tinong of Tondo, invited Crisostomo for tomorrow's lunch. Crisostomo declined, saying he was leaving for San Diego the following day. An attendant announced that dinner was served. Some Notes y Padre Sibyla, Padre Damaso, and Teniente Guevara were surprised to see Crisostomo Ibarra accompanied by Capitan Tiago. This means they did not know the purpose of the dinner. y Ibarra spent seven years in Europe. y Ibarra's name shows that his mother is a Filipina (Magsalin). Questions and Answers 1. Why did Ibarra think that his father was a close friend of Padre Damaso? When Ibarra was a child until he left for Europe, Padre Damaso would often join the Ibarras for lunch and dinner. Ibarra often heard his father, Don Rafael, conversing amiably with Padre Damaso. 2. Why did Padre Damaso deny that Don Rafael was his friend? It turns out that the heretic who died in jail, and whose body was ordered exhumed by Padre Damaso is Don Rafael. What happened to the relationship between Padre Damaso and Don Rafael during the seven years that Crisostomo Ibarra was away will be revealed in later chapters. Chapter 03: The Dinner Capitan Tiago ordered tinola served. It was a dish which Ibarra had not eaten in a long time because of his extended stay in Europe. Tinola contains chicken, white squash and broth. Table conversation covered where Ibarra went (Northern Europe, Germany and Russian Poland), as well as newsworthy items learned by Ibarra: "...the prosperity or the misery of a people is in direct proportion to its liberties or concerns, and consequently to the sacrifices or selfishness of its ancestors." Padre Damaso belittled Ibarra's trips abroad saying that these were useless because what Ibarra learned could be also known without having to travel extensively. Instead of arguing with the friar, Ibarra left after graciously excusing himself from the crowd. Capitan Tiago tried to stop him, saying that Maria Clara was coming soon, but Ibarra still left. Teniente Guevara followed him.

One of the guests (a red-haired writer named Laruja) present will later write an article about how tinola can ruin a feast and why indios should not be allowed to read or travel outside the Philippines. Some Notes y Padre Damaso is no longer the parish priest of San Diego (town of Capitan Tiago in their province). However, he was still invited to the dinner because he was the confessor of the late wife of Capitan Tiago. y Maria Clara is the sweetheart of Crisostomo Ibarra. Questions and Answers 1. Why did Ibarra say that his country has forgotten him? For one year, he did not receive any news from the Philippines while he was in Europe. None of his acquaintances let him know that his father had died. 2. How did Rizal show appreciation for the heritage of every country that he visited? Like Ibarra, Rizal made it a point to study the history of a country before visiting it. 3. What was Rizal's point in introducing the red-haired writer in this chapter? He wanted to point out that at that time, our history was being written by foreigners who had spent so little time in the country. An example of this would be the historical account stating that Magellan discovered the Philippines in 1521. How could he have discovered it when there were already Filipinos on the islands when Magellan arrived? 4. Why were there many Filipinos who were not educated by their parents during the Spanish occupation? The "indiyo" mothers were convinced by the friars that education was bad for the children. 5. What were the different types of people in society? Peninsular - born in Spain; living in the Philippines Filipino - Spaniards born in the Philippines Indiyo - "Natives" born in the Philippines

Spaniards born in the Philippines were also called Insulares. A distinction was made between espaolespeninsulares or simply peninsulares (full blooded Spaniards born in the Iberian peninsula) and the criollos or creoles (full blooded Spaniards born in the colonies). In the same way that the Spaniards originally used the term espaolesamericanos or simply americanos to refer to criollos in America, the term espaolesfilipinos or filipinos was applied to criollos in the Philippines. Being islandborn, the filipinos were also called insulares, as distinguished from the peninsulares.

Kabanata 1 y Nagbigay ng salu-salo si Don Santiago De Los Santos (Kapitan Tiago, dating mayor ng bayan) sa bahay niya sa kalye ng ANLAOGUE y Patapos na ang Oktubre, sa taong 1880 (hindi malaman kung 1881 o 1889) y Ang bahay nila ay bukas sa lahat y Hindi ginagiba ang mga bahay na sira. Hinahayaan lamang ito na kusang masira y Bahay malapit sa sapa ng Binondo (malaki ito) y Hindi maganda ang disenyo ng bahay (posibleng dahilan: Malabo ang mata ng arkitekto, o napinsala sa isang lindol o bagyo) y Ang tao ay parang PAWIKAN, dahil inuuri ang mga ito batay sa panlabas na anyo y Muebles (furniture) : galling Europa (hindi kumportable gamitin sa Pinas) Kabanata 2 Ano ang malalaman o mapapansin natin kay Crisostomo Ibarra (Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin): y Ipinakilala siya ni Kapitan Tiago bilang anak ni Don Rafael Ibarra, kaibigan ni Kapitan Tiago. y Pinagmasdan siya ng madla, at maraming nagpalakpakan pa. y Nakasuot ng itim si Crisostomo (nakaluksa). y Medyo matangkad si Ibarra. y Masayahin ang mukha niya. y Mamula-mula ang kanyang mga pisngi. y May 7 taon siyang nasa malamig ng Europa, kung saan siya nag-aral. y Hindi pa niya alam kung ano ang ginawa ni Padre Damaso sa ama ni Ibarra. y Sinubukan niyang makipag-usap sa mga Filipina, pero dinedma lang siya. y Nagme-may I explain siya na ginagaya lamang niya ang gawain sa Germany nung ipinakilala niya ang sarili niya sa isang grupo ng mga kalalakihan. y Di natin malaman sa ngayon kung mayabang si Ibarra, o medyo insecure lamang. Kinakabahan yata si Padre Damaso nung nilapitan ni Tiniente Guevara si Ibarra. Akala niya siguro na ibubuking na siya ng tiniente sa lapastangang ginawa niya sa ama ni Crisostomo Ibarra. Malamang, dahil sundalo si Tiniente Guevara at hindi mahilig sa showbiz, wala siyang ibinahagi kay Ibarra na eksplosibong rebelasyon. Si Kapitan Tinong (matalik na kaibigin ni Kapitan Tiago) ay nakatira sa Tondo. Ito ay naging arrabal (o lugar para sa mga mahihirap) ng Maynila nung panahon ng mga Kastila sa Pilipinas. Pansinin po natin na si Kapitan Tinong ay nakasuot ng mga butones na brilyante sa kanyang pitsera, o bahagi ng damit sa tapat ng kanyang dibdib. Natapos ang Kabanata 2 nung sinabi ng isang serbidor ng Cafe La Campana (sa Escolta nuon, na ngayon ay Tomas Pinpin St., Manila) na maaari nang kumain ang mga tao. Yung mga Filipina, kinailangan pang pilitin sapagkat iyon ang kulturang umiiral noon (pakipot).